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The increasingly inaccurately-named blog of journalist and futurist Chris Taylor. Either the most sporadically brilliant amateur blog, the most brilliantly amateur sporadic blog, or the most amateur sporadic brilliance on the Web since 2001.
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Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
Do you write any other blogs, by chance? Could that have something to do with the fact that Daily Blah isn't always Daily?
Yes -- the Future Boy blog for Business 2.0. And yes. If you want true, editorially-mandated daily coverage from me, that's probably the best place to look.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
Praise for Daily Blah:
"It is fun to watch the author's navel-gazing joy." - Sunday Times (UK)
"It's really funny and informative." - Dave Eggers, author
"The Blah is becoming a daily destination for me." - Richard Marsh, Playwright
"I like it, and I don't." - Fiona Hogg, Teacher
"Better than Xanax." - Lessley Andersen, journalist
"Dude, lay off the crack pipe." - Souris Hong-Porretta, gamesmith
Friends, Bloggers, Countrymen ... lend your ears to these people. I come not to bury them, but praise them.
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My TIME articles
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Daily Blah for... Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Letter To George
Dear President Bush,
I just got a letter this morning from Mercer Reynolds, your finance chairman. "Dear friend," it began, erroneously enough, "can I count on your support?" Reynolds went on to say that you yourself had told him what a great friend I'd been to you over the last several years. Now some might say this is just another lie in a long list of whoppers you've told, but I figured it was an easy mistake to make. After all, you just had that nasty bicycle accident. And your brain probably got jostled about a bit that time you got throttled by a pretzel. Besides, you've admitted you don't read the media, and all of the people you're allowed to meet have so much praise for you that it's easy to believe the rest of the country feels the same way. Perhaps you like to imagine the two of us out on the deck of the Oval Office one night, smoking cigars, playing chess (yes, the game with the horsies) and laughing into the wee hours at all your amusing nicknames.
Far be it from me to dash anyone's dreams, George, but I'm not your friend. Your party does not owe me a "debt of gratitude for the sacrifices you've made." And no, I'm not entirely grateful that you want to fingerprint me every time I cross the border. So alas, my answer to the question "can I count on your support?" is "no, I'd rather poke my eyes out with a large stick stolen from a medical laboratory where they put cancer cells on the end of large sticks."
Did the San Francisco address not tip you off? What possible connection could anything I've done have to the Republican cause? Is it because I did not send back my tax cut in protest? Was my face not scanned and filed at the antiwar rallies? I have to say, if your party is wasting its time and resources sending out mailings to people like me, it's no wonder your massive war chest isn't making a dent on Kerry's increasing lead. Hmmm, come to think of it ... sign me up for a truckload of brochures! I'll take 'em all.
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